Why can't Bihar have Muslim CM, questions Owaisi
Gopalganj (PTI): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday kicked off the election campaign of his party for the Bihar assembly elections, questioning why the eastern state cannot have a Muslim CM despite the minority community comprising 17 per cent of the state's population.
The Hyderabad MP lambasted the ruling NDA as well as the opposition INDIA bloc for allegedly "giving a raw deal" to the Muslim community.
Owaisi, whose party is contesting 32 assembly seats in the poll-bound state, launched his election campaign from Gopalganj, where he addressed a rally at a village 20 km away from the district headquarters.
"Why cannot a Muslim, who represents 17 per cent of the state's population, become the chief minister? After all, they seem to have no problem with promising the deputy CM's post to a person who represents only three per cent of the population," he added.
The allusion was to the INDIA bloc, which has named RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, promising the deputy CM's post to Mukesh Sahni, a Nishad leader who heads Vikassheel Insan Party.
Owaisi said, "Parties like Congress, RJD and Samajwadi Party seek votes of Muslims, cashing in on the minority community's fear of the BJP. These parties have not been able to stop the BJP but are still trying to get the votes of Muslims under the same pretext."
"The time has come to call the bluff of these parties, which cannot even offer a proportionate representation to Muslims in the distribution of tickets. The Muslim community now must look towards building its own leadership," asserted the AIMIM president.
Training his guns at the ruling BJP at the Centre, Owaisi pointed out, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to take all along and strive to work for the progress of all. But his party fails to give tickets, in elections, to a single Muslim."
He also charged Union Home Minister Amit Shah with indulging in dog-whistling against the minority community by repeatedly referring to 'infiltrators' (ghuspaithiye) in his election speeches.
"Amit Shah should tell us how many infiltrators were spotted during the mammoth SIR. He should also tell us how come infiltration continues unabated despite the BSF, which comes under his ministry, deployed along the country's borders.
"Of course, Amit Shah will flinch from answering these questions. But if Muslims of Bihar want these issues to be strongly raised in the state legislature, I appeal to them to vote for the kite symbol allotted to AIMIM," Owaisi added.
The Hyderabad MP also referred to the controversy over Union minister Giriraj Singh's repeated use of the term 'namak haram' (betrayers) for the Muslim community, whom the latter had accused of not voting for the BJP-led coalition despite availing of welfare measures brought in by the NDA government.
"A lot is being said about Rs 6,000 being paid to farmers under the Kisan Nidhi Yojana. It is public money and not the ancestral wealth of those in power. Moreover, corruption is rampant. People cannot avail of benefits they are entitled to unless the officials concerned get a cut," said the barrister-turned-politician.
Owaisi also alleged that leaders like Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD president Lalu Prasad, the father of Tejashwi Yadav, had skewed priorities.
"Modi's heart lies in Ahmedabad. The heart of Nitish lies in Rajgir (in his home district of Nalanda), Lalu's heart lies in his son. There is nobody whose heart beats for the common people," lamented the AIMIM chief.
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Siddaramaiah in 'helpless situation', under some 'compulsion', claims Cong MLA Rajanna
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Bengaluru (PTI): Amid claims that Siddaramaiah's confidants are being targeted within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, following recent actions against some party leaders, senior MLA K N Rajanna on Friday alleged that the chief minister is "helpless" and under some "compulsion" as he is not standing up to defend his people.
The comments from the former minister, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, came after Congress took action against some of its minority community leaders--considered close to the CM--following allegations of an internal conspiracy against the party candidate in the Davanagere South bypoll held on April 9.
Rajanna himself was sacked from the Ministry last August on the instructions of the party high command, following his alleged comments criticising top party leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft" charge.
"There will be vested interests in the party who will try to conspire against those who have been loyal to the party and want the party to grow for the welfare of the people. Nothing can be done about it. What we expect from our chief minister is that when such a situation arises, he should stand strong, but he is not standing and that is a sad thing," Rajanna said in response to a question whether Siddaramaiah's followers were being targeted in Congress.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "... I don't know what his thinking is. But we did not expect such a helpless situation from Siddaramaiah."
When asked who had made Siddaramaiah helpless, the former minister said, "I won't say who, you understand it yourself."
"People are saying that those close to Siddaramaiah are being targeted...I don't know what compulsions Siddaramaiah has. If he tells, we can know, but he won't say. I don't know under what compulsion he is following this neutrality," he said, adding that the CM is helpless and a person becomes "helpless" when his/her voice shrinks.
The Congress recently suspended MLC K Abdul Jabbar from the party's primary membership and relieved another MLC Naseer Ahmed from the post of chief minister's political secretary. This action came after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiracy" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Following the action against Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed, speculation is that Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan may also face action during the next cabinet rejig, as these three wanted a Muslim to get the bypoll ticket in Davanagere South, which the party gave to the late MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa's grandson Samarth Mallikarjun. They also did not actively participate in campaigning.
Citing a Kannada saying that there is no punishment for the mistakes committed by the King, Rajanna, in what seemed to be a veiled dig at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, asked, "Does sharing a stage with a person (referring to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) who said, 'Who is Rahul Gandhi? I don't know,' not amount to indiscipline?"
Referring to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge's statement on whether poverty could be ended by taking a dip in the Ganga at Prayagraj, he said, "...but this person (again referring to Shivakumar) goes there and compliments UP CM Yogi Adityanath for arrangements made for the Kumbh Mela. He also goes to Ambani family marriage, while Rahul Gandhi did not even accept the invitation."
"I'm not saying that action should be taken against this person too, but the party will have to observe these things also," he added.
Rajanna further pointed out that no action was taken when veteran Congress leader and late MLA from Davanagere South Shamanur Shivashankarappa made a speech seeking votes for BJP candidate B Y Raghavandra during Shivamogga Lok Sabha polls, and asked if this did not amount to indiscipline.
"The same people were at the helm then (referring to Shivakumar as KPCC chief), even a verbal warning was not given to him (Shivashankarappa)," he said, adding that, similarly no action was taken when Samarth Shamanur filed his nomination in Davanagere South before the party announced its candidate for Davanagere South-- that was also an act of indiscipline.
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